Volkswagen GTI

Volkswagen GTI

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The GTI is the car that invented the hot-hatch segment back in 1983, and since the new model remains true to its plaid-cloth-upholstered roots, we bestow upon it a 10Best award. It comes in three- and five-door hatchback versions; the base engine is a 210-hp 2.0-liter direct-injected turbo four. VW’s six-speed automatic is optional, as is a Performance package that nets an extra 10 hp, beefier brakes, and a torque-sensing limited-slip diff. Or are you holding out for the next Golf R? Instrumented Test – 2015 Volkswagen GTI DSG Automatic

2015 Volkswagen GTI DSG Automatic

The quickest GTI yet.

What can we say about the Volkswagen GTI that we haven’t said before? After subjecting the perennial 10Best winner to innumerable reviews, it’s hard to come up with any praise or criticism that hasn’t already been heard. But just as the new seventh-generation Golf exists in many forms, there are many flavors of GTI, too, all of which are worth knowing from a raw-numbers standpoint. So this time, we’ve strapped our equipment to the GTI Autobahn model with the six-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic, the Performance pack, and Dynamic Chassis Control.

We already tested the 2015 GTI with its standard six-speed manual when the car launched last year—and liked it so much that we ordered our sassy white long-termer so equipped. When it arrived, we tested it again. Yet as technical editor K.C. Colwell said in the long-term GTI intro, “no one should feel shame for going with the automatic.” Our latest numbers fully back up his statement.

Launch Control to Major Tom

Loaded up as it was with all the bells and whistles (save for the $995 Lighting package and the $695 Driver Assistance package), our test car weighed about 110 pounds more than our newly arrived long-termer. Still, the DSG proved to be a half-second quicker to 60 mph, at 5.6 seconds. The DSG also beat the GTI we tested last year, which hit 60 in 5.8 seconds. Credit the transmission’s lightning-quick shifts and its launch-control program. To enable the latter, first turn off traction control, move the gearshift to S, select the Sport driving mode, then brake torque until revs peak at 3000 rpm or so. Then jump off the brake and hold on. After very little wheelspin, you’re off to a sub-six-second zero-to-60 run, which you can repeat all day long. Around town, though, turbo lag hampers one’s efforts to some effect, evidenced by a 6.5-second 5-to-60-mph time that’s nearly a second longer than the standing-start result. On the other hand, the brakes did not disappoint in any way, producing stops from 70 mph in the 159-foot range with truly delightful, firm pedal feel.

The GTI has been a sweet handler throughout much of its four-decade history. And particularly now that the hatch is built around MQB bones, we always marvel at how VW has utterly neutralized the car’s 61/39-percent weight distribution and allowed so much feel into the steering while simultaneously quelling torque steer. We had particularly high expectations of this model, as it’s equipped with the $800 Dynamic Chassis Control option. While its 0.91-g skidpad figure is more than respectable, it is no better than either of the non-DCC-equipped 2015 GTIs we’ve tested—our long-termer even managed 0.93 g of lateral grip. Hence, the benefits of the DCC shocks are more subjective than objective, allowing a splendid sense of connectedness for charging down a back road in their Dynamic setting, yet yielding a truly plush ride in Comfort mode on a long trip.

Fuel-Range Alarmist

Speaking of longer trips, this test involved more than just a quick jaunt to the track and back. Instead, it covered 1400 miles, including a stint from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back, during which we grew even more appreciative of the comfortable leather-upholstered seats, interior room, and, yes, the DSG itself on the congested streets of both cities. Alas, we also grew to loathe the utterly terrible navigation system—don’t even try to use the voice prompts—and the lack of a USB port anywhere unless you buy an accessory adapter cable to fit VW’s proprietary plug (the latter will be fixed for 2016, we’ve been told).

Also, we found ourselves stopping often for gas, not due to poor fuel economy (at 27 mpg observed in our hands, it was actually pretty good) but because the overly cautious range calculator starts ringing alarm bells even when less than 10 gallons or so have been drained from the 13.2-gallon tank.

Still, none of the above, nor the fact that the base halogen headlamps look rather cheap on a $34,260-as-tested hatchback, is enough to dim our ardor for the GTI. And with its superior acceleration, launch control, and intuitive, rev-matching downshifts, the quick-shifting DSG transmission remains the best possible alternative to a three-pedal manual in virtually all of autodom. As we said five years ago in a review of a 2010 GTI equipped with the DSG: “Ultimately, we wouldn’t fault anyone for choosing the DSG over the manual, or vice versa. After all, no matter which transmission you choose, it’ll still be bolted into a GTI.”